This disclosure relates in general to the field of inventory management.
Inventory management systems have progressed in sophistication and precision through the advent of the computer. Perpetual inventory systems have been developed to track and update inventory quantity and availability on a continuous basis as a function of doing business. Perpetual inventory systems are not immune from errors and, in some cases, are vulnerable to errors due to overstatements (phantom inventory) or understatements that can occur as a result of theft, breakage, scanning errors or untracked inventory movements, leading to systematic errors in replenishment, among other issues.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or “drones”, are aircraft without a human pilot onboard. In some cases, a UAV can be computer-controlled, while in other cases a UAV can be remote controlled by a human user. Applications for UAVs are increasing with UAVs currently used in military intelligence and weaponry, oil and gas exploration, domestic policing, scientific research, nature conservation, among others.